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From: Al Falfa on 3 Jan 2010 20:05 I started my 2010 at -24F last night. It shook violently with the engine making a chug-chug sound, sort of like an old John Deere one-lung tractor. I'm thinking it was running on two cylinders. After about 30 seconds the shaking and chug-chug sound diminished somewhat. I'm thinking a third cylinder started firing. The headlights were blinking at the chug-chug rate. A couple of the minutes later the shaking and chug-chug sound disappeared and the engine ran normally. No warning beeps or lights. Prior to starting, the car had sat for about 4 hours immediately following an uneventful 75 mile drive. Earlier in the day I'd driven 150 miles at -18F. Once the engine was running smoothly, I drove 125 uneventful miles. The car has 4000 miles on it. Anyone have an idea what caused this? My confidence is shaken. My 2005 groaned a bit at -35F but never behaved this badly.
From: Al Falfa on 7 Jan 2010 17:03 I started it again this morning, for the first time since the episode below. It was -5F. This time I think it fired on 3 cylinders. Shook the whole car for about 45 seconds before smoothing out. I once broke a valve in a VW. The valve head took out a piston and connecting rod. If you've experienced a massive cylinder failure you know what my Prius sounds like during this period. Again, no alarms whatever. Dealer says bring it in and he'll look at it. I think he'll need to leave it overnight in sub-zero temps to experience this. Any ideas out there? "Al Falfa" <crop(a)eastforty.fld> wrote in message news:4b413ed3$1(a)newsgate.x-privat.org... > I started my 2010 at -24F last night. It shook violently with the engine > making a chug-chug sound, sort of like an old John Deere one-lung tractor. > I'm thinking it was running on two cylinders. After about 30 seconds the > shaking and chug-chug sound diminished somewhat. I'm thinking a third > cylinder started firing. The headlights were blinking at the chug-chug > rate. A couple of the minutes later the shaking and chug-chug sound > disappeared and the engine ran normally. No warning beeps or lights. > > Prior to starting, the car had sat for about 4 hours immediately following > an uneventful 75 mile drive. Earlier in the day I'd driven 150 miles > at -18F. > > Once the engine was running smoothly, I drove 125 uneventful miles. The > car has 4000 miles on it. Anyone have an idea what caused this? My > confidence is shaken. My 2005 groaned a bit at -35F but never behaved > this badly. > >
From: Leo on 8 Jan 2010 07:45 "Al Falfa" <crop(a)eastforty.fld> wrote: >I started it again this morning, for the first time since the episode below. >It was -5F. This time I think it fired on 3 cylinders. Shook the whole car >for about 45 seconds before smoothing out. I once broke a valve in a VW. >The valve head took out a piston and connecting rod. If you've experienced >a massive cylinder failure you know what my Prius sounds like during this >period. Again, no alarms whatever. Dealer says bring it in and he'll look >at it. I think he'll need to leave it overnight in sub-zero temps to >experience this. > >Any ideas out there? First make sure you are not low on oil or having any other major engine problems. Then next time its really cold start it and when it's about to self destruct push it as hard as you can and let the warranty deal with the pieces. - Leo
From: Al Falfa on 8 Jan 2010 11:00 "Leo" <leo(a)some.net> wrote in message news:av9ek5h9cl51re1fioohkgf1casl13081t(a)4ax.com... > "Al Falfa" <crop(a)eastforty.fld> wrote: > >>I started it again this morning, for the first time since the episode >>below. >>It was -5F. This time I think it fired on 3 cylinders. Shook the whole >>car >>for about 45 seconds before smoothing out. I once broke a valve in a VW. >>The valve head took out a piston and connecting rod. If you've >>experienced >>a massive cylinder failure you know what my Prius sounds like during this >>period. Again, no alarms whatever. Dealer says bring it in and he'll >>look >>at it. I think he'll need to leave it overnight in sub-zero temps to >>experience this. >> >>Any ideas out there? > > First make sure you are not low on oil or having any other major > engine problems. Then next time its really cold start it and when it's > about to self destruct push it as hard as you can and let the warranty > deal with the pieces. > > - Leo Right. I checked the oil and it's about 1/8 inch below full. Dealer is going to keep it overnight during the next cold spell and connect their scan gauge before starting it up. I understand it's tough to troubleshoot when it's warm since it runs smoothly once the clanking and vibration ceases.
From: David T. Johnson on 18 Jan 2010 01:04
Al Falfa wrote: > I started it again this morning, for the first time since the episode > below. It was -5F. This time I think it fired on 3 cylinders. Shook > the whole car for about 45 seconds before smoothing out. I once broke a > valve in a VW. The valve head took out a piston and connecting rod. If > you've experienced a massive cylinder failure you know what my Prius > sounds like during this period. Again, no alarms whatever. Dealer says > bring it in and he'll look at it. I think he'll need to leave it > overnight in sub-zero temps to experience this. > > Any ideas out there? > Water/ice in the fuel. You should get an engine block heater if you're going to operate in that temperature range. -- Posted with OS/2 Warp 4.52 and Sea Monkey 1.5a |